Pinocchio (1940 film)
Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions and based on the Italian children's novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It was the second animated feature film produced by Disney, made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The plot of the film involves an old wood-carver named Geppetto who carves a wooden puppet named Pinocchio. The puppet is brought to life by a blue fairy, who informs him that he can become a real boy if he proves himself to be "brave, truthful, and unselfish". Pinocchio's efforts to become a real boy involve encounters with a host of unsavory characters. The film was adapted by Aurelius Battaglia, William Cottrell, Otto Englander, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, Ted Sears, and Webb Smith from Collodi's book. The production was supervised by Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske, and the film's sequences were directed by Norman Ferguson, T. Hee, Wilfred Jackson, Jack Kinney, and Bill Roberts. Pinocchio was a groundbreaking achievement in the area of effects animation, giving realistic movement to vehicles, machinery and natural elements such as rain, lightning, smoke, shadows and water. The film was released to theaters by RKO Radio Pictures on February 23, 1940. Critical analysis of Pinocchio identifies it as a simple morality tale that teaches children of the benefits of hard work and middle-class values. Although it became the first animated feature to win a competitive Academy Award – winning two for Best Music, Original Score and for Best Music, Original Song for "When You Wish Upon A Star" – it was initially a box office disaster. It eventually made a profit in its 1945 reissue, and is considered one of the greatest animated films ever made, with a rare 100% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes. The film and characters are still prevalent in popular culture, featuring at various Disney parks and in other forms of entertainment. In 1994, Pinocchio was added to the United States National Film Registry for being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". Plot The film opens with Jiminy Cricket singing When You Wish Upon A Star as he sits on a bookshelf, on which can be found various literary classics, such as Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio, which is given a place of prominence. Jiminy Cricket greets the audience and acknowledges that many may not believe that a wish, as the song states, may come true, and, as proof of the message, decides to tell the story of Pinocchio. He slides down the shelf to the book and opens it, beginning his story in a peaceful village at night, which Jiminy states he was passing through. At this point, the viewer enters the story Jiminy is telling through an illustration in the book. The only building from which light seems to eminate is Gepetto's Workshop. Jiminy hops over to the open window and peers in to see a warm fire in a room filled with beautifully carved toys, clocks, music boxes and puppets. He enters the room and warms himself by the fire. He then notices Pinocchio, a lifeless marionette, sitting on a shelf. As he is admiring the puppet, he hears someone coming. Crawling up the marionette's strings to hide on a high shelf, he sees Gepetto coming down the stairs with Figaro to finish painting the puppet. Gepetto greets Cleo, whose bowl sits nearby, and carefully paints a smile on the puppet's face. Having completed the marionette he gives it the name "Pinocchio" (which literally means "Little Wooden Head") and tests it out by walking it around the workshop, to the tune of Little Wooden Head which is played by one of the music boxes. The bells of the clocks that cover the walls of the workshop indicate that it is now nine o'clock, and Gepetto announces that it is time for bed. After he, Figaro and Cleo have bidden each other goodnight, the woodcutter gets into bed, to notice a Wishing Star through the window. He wishes that Pinocchio would become a real boy, before falling asleep. The wishing star glows brighter, and gets closer to the window; eventually, reaching the workshop, it transforms into the Blue Fairy. She approaches Pinocchio, and brings the puppet to life with a tap of her wand, and his strings vanish without a trace. Pinocchio is delighted and surprised at his ability to move and talk. The Fairy informs him, however, that he is not a real boy yet, and must prove himself brave, truthful, and unselfish in order to become one, and learn the difference between right and wrong. After Jiminy hops in to explain to Pinocchio, the Blue Fairy decides to dub the cricket Pinocchio's conscience and leaves, telling Pinocchio to always let his conscience be his guide. Jiminy tries to explain the conept of right and wrong, and, though he is largely unsuccessful, Pinocchio tells him that he wants "to do right". Jiminy then sings Give A Little Whistle, and Pinocchio joins in, falling into a pile of toys by accident. This wakes Gepetto, who cautiously searches the room. On finding Pinocchio moving and talking, he first thinks he is dreaming, but is eventually convinced, and delighted, that his 'son' is alive. Winding the music boxes, Gepetto, Pinocchio, Figaro and Cleo celebrate. Pinocchio is distracted by a candle and, not knowing what it is, sets his finger on fire; Gepetto panics and extinguishes the wooden boy's finger in Cleo's bowl. He decides that they should go to sleep before anything else happens. The next morning, the village is awake. The boys and girls hurry to school, and Pinocchio excitedly follows them. He is noticed by a fox and cat, who, knowing the value of a moving puppet without strings, "befriend" him, intending to sell him. The fox introduces himself as Honest John and tells Pinocchio that he is just the type to become an actor. He and his partner Gideon (the cat) lead him through the streets, while Honest John sings "Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life For Me)". Jiminy, meanwhile, is "late on his first day", and tries to tell Pinocchio not to give in to temptation, but is ignored, and Pinocchio accompanies the fox and cat to "be an actor" while Jiminy desperately runs after them. Honest John takes Pinocchio to Stromboli's Caravan, where puppet master Stromboli buys the wooden boy and makes him his star attraction. That evening, Jiminy watches from a lamp post as Pinocchio performs I've Got No Strings for the audience, and is met with enthusiastic applause as onlookers throw money on to the stage, much to Stromboli's delight and Jiminy's surprise. Thinking that he was wrong in trying to stop Pinocchio, Jiminy decides to let the living puppet continue without him. Gepetto, meanwhile, is worried that Pinocchio has not returned from school, and leaves the workshop to look for him. In Stromboli's caravan, after the show, the puppet master congratulates Pinocchio for making him so much money, and tells him that he will become a star. Delighted, Pinocchio tries to go home to tell Gepetto, but is stopped by Stromboli, who grabs him and throws him into a wooden birdcage. He tells the boy that he will keep him there, taking him out only to put on shows as they tour the world. And when Pinocchio is too old to entertain audiences, Stromboli will use him for firewood. Laughing, Stromboli leaves the carriage, slamming the door. The caravan begins to move, and Pinocchio weeps as he tries to call out to his friend. Jiminy is outside in the rain, watching the caravan pass. He decides to wish Pinocchio good luck and to say goodbye to him, and is surprised to find Pinocchio locked up. He tries to unlock the cage but to no avail. He stays with Pinocchio as the two weep over their predicament. Geppetto passes the caravan, but his calls for Pinocchio are not heard over the rain and thunder. When all hope seems lost, the Blue Fairy appears in the caravan. She asks why Pinocchio did not go to school; the wooden boy lies, telling her that he and Jiminy were captured by monsters. His nose becomes longer with each lie he tells, until it becomes a tree limb, complete with leaves and a bird's nest. The Blue Fairy tells Pinocchio that a lie keeps growing, "until it's as plain as the nose on your face". Pinocchio promises to never lie again, and his nose returns to its normal size. The Fairy then frees Pinocchio from the cage and vanishes, saying that this will be the last time she will help them, meaning she could not help them anymore. Jiminy and Pinocchio sneak out of the caravan as it is moving. Meanwhile, the fox and cat are celebrating at The Red Lobster. Seated opposite them is the Coachman, who listens to their story and decides to catch their attention with a huge bag of money, which he says can be theirs if they bring "stupid little boys" to the crossroads for him to take to Pleasure Island. Though Foulfellow is at first terrified of getting caught, the Coachman assures him that none of the boys ever come back "as boys." As soon as they leave the tavern, the fox and cat find Pinocchio racing Jiminy Cricket home, and pretend to be doctors, stating that he is 'allergic' and must go to Pleasure Island to get better. They carry him to the crossroads with Jiminy once again in hot pursuit. When on the Coachman's Stagecoach, Pinocchio meets a kid named Lampwick, who tells him that Pleasure Island is a "swell joint" where boys can run riot without fear of reprimand from authority figures and everything is freely available. The coach reaches the shore, where the boys board a boat which takes them to the island. As the boys enjoy themselves at the fairground-like Pleasure Island, the Coachman orders his minions to close the doors, locking the unknowing boys in. Later that night, Jiminy searches the now-deserted farground for Pinocchio. He eventually finds him playing pool with Lampwick, who scoffs that Pinocchio "takes orders from a grasshopper" and laughs at Jiminy, shooting the cricket down the pool gutter when he admonishes him. Jiminy loses his temper and attempts to leave, quitting as Pinocchio's conscience after discovering that Pinocchio is friends with Lampwick. He crawls under the main doors of the fairground to find the Coachman and his minions loading donkeys into crates going to places such as the Salt Mines and the Circus. One donkey, named Alexander, is able to speak. The Coachman throws Alexander into a pen of other donkeys that "can still talk". Jiminy realizes that the donkeys are the same boys that went to Pleasure Island, meaning that they were somehow transformed into donkeys and being sold into slavery. He rushes back to warn Pinocchio. Back in the pool hall, Lampwick is still laughing about Jiminy when he suddenly sprouts donkey ears. He then looks into the mirror and panics. He pleads Pinocchio for help, but the boy is only able to look on in fright. Lampwick's last words are a frantic call for his mother before he turns into a donkey completely. Losing his mind, Lampwick starts to kick everything on the pool hall, breaking a mirror and a table, and kicking his clothes off. A speechless Pinocchio hides behind a chair, and his panic increases when he himself sprouts ears and a tail, but Jiminy arrives just in time to tell him that Pleasure Island is cursed and takes him to an escape route in order to avoid the same terrible fate. Together, they swim to the shore of the mainland with Pinocchio only having a donkey tail and ears, leaving Lampwick and the others behind. Pinocchio and Jiminy arrive at Geppetto's workshop to discover the old woodcutter has left, along with Figaro and Cleo. A message from the Blue Fairy as a dove informs Pinocchio of his father's location: after venturing out to sea to find Pinocchio, he had been swallowed by Monstro, an enormous whale. Pinocchio resolves to save Geppetto; though Jiminy tries to warn him against it, he accompanies the boy. Tying a rock to his donkey tail, Pinocchio plunges to the bottom of the sea and he and Jiminy begin their search for Monstro. Any sea creatures they attempt to ask flee at the mere mention of Monstro's name. Inside the belly of the whale, Gepetto is in a small boat with Figaro and Cleo. They have nothing to eat; Geppetto fears that, unless Monstro opens his mouth soon, they will starve to death. Monstro then wakes from his slumber to surprise a school of tuna, who flee in all directions; Pinocchio and Jiminy see Monstro and, frightened, try to swim to escape; Pinocchio is swallowed but the sprightly Jiminy manages to escape. Pinocchio finds himself on Geppetto's boat, and the woodcarver is relieved to see his son again. Geppetto laments that they could not get out of the whale. However, Pinocchio has a plan; gathering some wood, he starts a fire, which causes Monstro to sneeze the boat out. Jiminy jumps on as they fly past. Furious, Monstro chases the boat and smashes it to pieces with his tail. Pinocchio grabs ahold of his father and paddles for a hole in the cliffs beyond as a means of escape. Monstro, enraged as ever, continues to chase after them. Pinocchio succeeds in getting through the hole in the cliff just as Monstro crashes into it. Gepetto, Jiminy, Figaro and Cleo wash up on shore alive, but Pinocchio is seen floating face down in a deep puddle, apparently having died trying to save his father. In Gepetto's workshop, Jiminy, Gepetto and his pets mourn Pinocchio's death. However, in saving his father, Pinocchio has proved himself; the Blue Fairy, from afar, grants him life, and he becomes a real boy. While the other characters celebrate, Jiminy, standing on the window ledge, gazes at the Wishing Star and thanks the Blue Fairy. As a reward, a gold medal declaring him an 'Official Conscience' appears on his front. As Jiminy leaves with his new badge, the Wishing Star still shines in the sky, protecting and illuminating the village forevermore. References Gallery File:Pinocchio1985VHScover.jpg|1985 Walt Disney's Classics cover File:PinocchioVHScover.jpg|1986 Walt Disney's Classics cover File:Pinocchio1993VHScover.jpg|1993 VHS cover File:Pinocchio60thAnniversaryEditionVHScover.jpg|60th Anniversary Edition VHS cover File:PinocchioGoldCollectionVHScover.jpg|Gold Classic Collection VHS cover Category:1940 films Category:1940s films Category:Walt Disney Pictures films Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios films Category:Films